.htaccess and .htpasswd throwing 500 internal server error

.htaccess and .htpasswd throwing 500 internal server error - .htaccess files are extremely useful in many cases for users who either do not have root permissions or for users who simply aren't comfortable in making changes in their web server's configuration file. Trying to debug .htaccess not working isn't always the easiest thing to do, however, hopefully by checking the discuss below mentioned about htaccess, htpasswd, , , .htaccess common problems as well as the troubleshooting tips, you'll have a better grasp on what you may have to modify to get your .htaccess file running smoothly.Problem :

I've created a .htaccess and a .htpasswd file, both using my hosting's tool, uploaded them, and I get an error when I try to view the directory. Why?

my .htaccess file:

AuthName "Restricted Area" 
AuthType Basic 
AuthUserFile /home/u947248131/.htpasswd 
AuthGroupFile /dev/null 
require valid-user

Solution :

in your .htaccess file is it within

 <Directory /path/to/the/directory >
AuthName "Restricted Area" 
AuthType Basic 
AuthUserFile /home/u947248131/.htpasswd 
AuthGroupFile /dev/null 
require valid-user
</Directory>

More help http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/howto/auth.html#gettingitworking

Otherwise if you can put the error log that would help

Additionally, if you would like to do some further testing, give the htaccess tester tool a try. It allows you to specify a certain URL as well as the rules you would like to include and then shows which rules were tested, which ones met the criteria, and which ones were executed.